


In All Fairness

by SonriaCat



Series: Tales from Winter Camp [7]
Category: Earth 2 (TV 1994)
Genre: 100 situations, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2019-02-16 20:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonriaCat/pseuds/SonriaCat
Summary: Why does Walman always fall asleep on watch?





	In All Fairness

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Relief

Something jabbed the bottom of his foot. “Wha — huh?”

Magus kicked at him again. “Walman, can you _ever_ stay awake on watch?”

Still muzzy, he mumbled the answer. “I’m awake.”

“Yeah, you are now.”

“I’d’ve heard it if something was wrong,” he protested. “I wasn’t that far asleep.”

“Uh-huh,” she answered. “Just like you heard me walk up. Well, go ahead. My shift.”

He handed her the mag-pro and stood up to leave.

“If things were fair,” she continued, “you wouldn’t sleep a wink the rest of the night.”

Shrugging his shoulders, he said good night and went into the bio-dome to get a warm drink before bed. He opened and closed the door quietly, keeping his lumalight turned down to a minimum so that he wouldn’t disturb anyone.

For all that it mattered: there was a light already on in the main dome. Sighing, he snapped his off and followed the other one around to find Devon sitting at one of the tables, dark head bent over charts spread in front of her. “Dev?”

She looked up. “Oh. Hi.”

“It’s three o’clock. You’re up late.”

“It’s that late already?” She leaned back in the chair, but made no move to get up. “I guess I just got caught up in what I was doing.”

“Again.”

She had the good grace to look embarrassed.

“Third time this week,” he observed conversationally.

She turned her gaze back down to the charts.

Shaking his head, Walman went into the kitchen and started to pour two mugs of Bess’ latest coffee substitute. He stopped with his hand on the warmer lid. Coffee might not be the best idea. Instead, he rooted around the supplies until he found some of those leaves they’d discovered back in autumn, the ones that made a halfway decent tea.

Devon sniffed the mug when he brought it back to her. “Tea?”

“Yeah. You don’t need caffeine right now.” He reached for the charts, intending to shut the readers off. “You need sleep.”

She touched his hand gently, keeping it away from the switch. “I’ll go to bed when I’m done with these.”

“Dev, what are you doing with those maps that can’t wait?” He gestured with his mug. “Look around! We’re not going anywhere anytime soon. They’ll still be here in the morning.”

“I, ah, I just…” She sighed, dropping her eyes. “I can’t sleep.”

At least she was admitting it. He sat down in the chair across from her. “What happened this time?”

“Haven’t you listened to me enough this week?”

His response was a soft chuckle. “I always have time to listen to you.”

“What about you? Don’t _you_ need sleep?”

“I’m fine,” he answered. She didn’t protest when he reached over to turn off the readers this time. “Come on, talk to me. You know you won’t get to sleep until you do.”

“All right.” She took a deep breath. “You can’t tell Danziger I told you about this.”

“Do you really need to say that anymore?”

“You’re right.” She dropped her eyes again, looking at her hands. “I don’t.” Then, she started describing her latest argument with the Head of Operations. It was another one of their pointless ones, the kind that tended to leave her frustrated and incredulous and feeling a dozen other emotions all at once. Walman just listened, knowing she’d talk it out on her own soon enough. After she did, she’d sleep. And so, finally, would he.

_If things were fair_ , Magus had told him, _you wouldn_ _’t sleep a wink the rest of the night._

Little did she know, he thought. Little did she know.


End file.
